The United States is facing an unusually concentrated stretch of capital punishment, with executions scheduled in several states over a single 24-hour period this week.
Georgia and Texas initially planned executions roughly an hour apart on Wednesday, but a late court decision put Georgia’s case on hold. Texas is still scheduled to execute LeJames Norman that night, while Alabama is set to carry out another execution on Thursday. The Georgia execution of Stacey Humphreys cannot proceed unless the stay is reversed or lifted by a higher court.
Humphreys, 53, was scheduled to die by lethal injection in Georgia for his conviction in the 2003 killings of real estate agents Lori Brown, 21, and Cindy Williams, 33. A Cobb County judge issued a stay late Tuesday, temporarily blocking the state from carrying out the sentence.
Approximately an hour after Georgia’s planned execution time, Texas was set to execute Norman, 40. He was sentenced to death for killing three neighbors during a 2005 robbery that escalated into a deadly attack.
Jeffrey Lee, LeJames Norman and Stacey Humphreys had execution dates set in three states during the same 24-hour period, though Humphreys’ execution was later stayed by a Georgia judge. (Alabama Department of Corrections:Texas Department of Criminal Justice:Georgia Department of Corrections)
Alabama’s scheduled execution on Thursday involves Jeffery Lee, 50, who was convicted in the 1998 murders of two people during a pawn shop robbery.
“It’s not very common to have this many executions just across a couple of days,” Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told News Outlet. She noted that September has seven executions scheduled, matching the total carried out in October of last year. Before that, the country had not recorded seven executions in one month since 2010.
Maher said the pattern is part of an unusual year in which multiple executions have repeatedly been scheduled close together. Three executions took place on the same day in August, but she said there is no indication that states coordinated their schedules. Instead, the overlap appears to be coincidental.
On Aug. 13, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Alabama each carried out a lethal injection. It was the first time since Jan. 7, 2010, that three states executed prisoners on the same day.
Florida also conducted two executions on July 28, marking the state’s first double execution in several decades.
Texas continues to have LeJames Norman’s execution scheduled for Wednesday after a Georgia judge halted Stacey Humphreys’ execution, while Alabama plans to conduct another execution the next day. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
So far in 2026, the U.S. has carried out 25 executions. Fourteen more are currently scheduled before the end of the year, though court rulings, appeals and newly issued execution dates could change that figure.
In 2025, executions were carried out in 11 states, totaling 47 deaths and representing the highest annual number in the country since 2009.
Florida has led the nation in executions. The state put 19 people to death in 2025, accounting for more than 40% of the national total. It has conducted 15 executions so far in 2026, or 60% of all executions in the country this year.
Taken together, Florida’s executions in 2025 and 2026 represent roughly 47% of the national total. The state has maintained its accelerated pace as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis continues signing a large number of death warrants.
Texas, Alabama and South Carolina followed Florida, with eight, six and five executions, respectively, in that window. Texas carried out five executions in 2025 and three so far in 2026, Alabama executed five people in 2025 and one in 2026 and South Carolina put five people to death — all in 2025.
In 2026, 25 executions have been carried out in the U.S., and 14 are scheduled for the remainder of the year. (The Promise of Justice Initiative via AP)
“Last year was a very unusual year. It was the most executions we’ve seen in 15 years in the United States,” Maher said. “This year, we do not expect to reach that number of executions again. There are a number of other warrants that are still open for this year, but I don’t think we’ll reach the high that we reached last year.”
“All of this is really due to Florida,” she added. “Gov. DeSantis has decided that he wants to set a record in the number of executions that are conducted during his term. He has scheduled an execution for roughly every two weeks in the state of Florida, both last year and this year.”
Two executions remain scheduled in Florida for the rest of 2026. Curtis Beasley, 77, is set to be executed Sept. 29 for the 1995 murder of a woman who was bludgeoned with a hammer, while William Lee Thompson, 74, is scheduled for execution Oct. 13 for the 1976 murder of a woman who was beaten, tortured and killed with a chain-link belt.
